Chapter 6: Reported Injury Road Accidents
Chapter 6: Reported Injury Road Accidents
Reported Injury Road Accidents
1. Introduction
1.1 This chapter provides information on injury road accidents which were reported to the police, such as the number and severity of accidents, the police force area in which the accidents occurred, the types of vehicle involved, the number and severity of casualties resulting from the accidents, and the costs of injury and non-injury accidents.
More information can be found in the Transport Scotland National Statistics publication Reported Road Casualties Scotland: http://bit.ly/2hi2pou.
Key points
- There were 161 people killed in road accidents in 2018, 16 (11%) more than the previous year.
- There were 1,582 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2018, 12 (1%) less than in 2017.
- Three quarters of casualties in 2018 were car users or pedestrians. Sixty per cent of casualties were car users and 15 per cent were pedestrians. Pedal cycles accounted for 8 per cent and Motorcycles for 8 per cent.
2. Main Points
Accidents
2.1 There were 6,423 injury road accidents reported in 2018, 695 (10%) fewer than in 2017. The number of reported accidents has been falling over the past ten years, and in 2018 was 47% lower than in 2008; the lowest figure since current records began in 1970. There were 150 fatal accidents in 2018: 10 (7%) less than in 2017. The reported number of accidents in which someone was seriously injured, but no-one died decreased by 1% to 1,369 and the number of reported slight accidents (4,904) was 696 (12%) fewer than the previous year. (Table 6.1)
2.2 In 2018, over one third of all reported injury road accidents (2,392: 37%) were on non-built up roads (speed limit of more than 40 m.p.h. - see Notes and Definitions section, page 225). However, such roads accounted for a higher proportion of fatal accidents (107: 71%), partly because speeds tend to be higher on non-built up roads than on built up roads. There was a smaller decrease in accidents on non-built up roads (down by 5%) between 2017 and 2018 compared to a decrease in accidents on built up roads of 12%. (Table 6.1)
2.3 The long term trends in the number of injury road accidents reported between 2008 and 2018 varied between the Police Force divisions across Scotland, ranging from a 29% fall (East Ayrshire) to a 75% fall (Moray). The figures for an area may fluctuate from year to year, especially in smaller areas, although the trends appear to be downwards. (Table 6.2)
2.4 There were 11,399 vehicles involved in reported injury road accidents in 2018. Almost three-quarters of them were cars (8,367: 73%); light goods vehicles were the next vehicle type most often involved in accidents (759: 7%), though pedal cycles are a similar proportion. (Table 6.3) Up until 2010, the number of motorcycles involved was higher than the number of pedal cycles but since then there has been a fall in motorcycle traffic and an increase in pedal cycle traffic. The number of vehicles involved in accidents should always be considered alongside the traffic estimates in Chapter 5.
Casualties
2.5 161 people were killed in road accidents in 2018, 16 (11%) more than the previous year. This was 51% less than the 2004-08 average, the time period used as the baseline for Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2020. (Table 6.4) Further analysis of progress against the Road Safety Framework Targets can be found in article 1 of Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2018.
2.6 There were 1,582 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2018, 12 (1%) less than in 2017, 39% less than the 2004-08 average. 6,668 people were recorded as slightly injured in 2018, 1,026(13%) fewer than in 2017, and the lowest recorded. There were a total of 8,411 casualties in 2018, 1,022 (11%) lower than in 2017. (Table 6.4)
2.7 In the context of the total volume of traffic on the roads in Scotland, the 8,411 total casualties recorded represented 17.47 casualties per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The Road Safety Framework also monitors the numbers of slight injuries per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The 6,668 people who were recorded as slightly injured in 2018 represented 13.85 casualties per 100 million vehicle-kilometres. This was 57% below the overall slight casualty rate for the 2004-08 baseline period for Scotland’s Road Safety Framework. (Table 6.4)
Child casualties
2.8 There were 753 reported child casualties in 2018, representing 9% of the total number of casualties of all ages. There were 3 child fatalities, 142 children were seriously injured (56% less than the 2004-08 average), and 608 were classified as slightly injured. Due to the relatively small number of child fatalities, these are monitored using a three year average to remove the effect of year on year fluctuations. In the three years to 2018, there was an average of 6 child fatalities. The number of child serious casualties decreased by 11 (7%) between 2017 and 2018. Slight casualties were down by 137. (Table 6.4)
Casualty Rates & Costs
2.9 Table 6.5 provides road casualty rates per thousand population by age group and mode of transport. Overall, there were 1.55 casualties per thousand population in 2018. The casualty rate for children (0-15 years) was 0.82 per thousand population. However, the child and young adult pedestrian casualty rates (0.36 and 0.25 per thousand population respectively) were much higher than the pedestrian casualty rate for adults (0.19). The total young persons' (16-24 years) casualty rate in 2018 was 2.46 per thousand population, just under twice the rate for all ages. The young persons' casualty rate in cars (1.80 per thousand population) was almost double the rate for adults aged 25-59 (which was 1.07 per thousand population). Further information about the mid-year population estimates used to calculate these rates can be found at the National Records of Scotland, here http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/population/population-estimates/mid-year-population-estimates (Table 6.5)
2.10 The cost of all road accidents (including damage only non-injury accidents) in 2018 is estimated at £1,029 million at 2018 prices. (Table 6.6)
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Built up roads | |||||||||||
Fatal | 82 | 56 | 56 | 61 | 64 | 44 | 67 | 47 | 44 | 44 | 43 |
Serious | 1,277 | 1,033 | 925 | 953 | 985 | 806 | 854 | 833 | 815 | 792 | 748 |
Fatal and Serious | 1,359 | 1,089 | 981 | 1,014 | 1,049 | 850 | 921 | 880 | 859 | 836 | 791 |
Slight | 6,105 | 5,902 | 5,360 | 5,345 | 5,116 | 4,897 | 4,782 | 4,521 | 4,606 | 3,756 | 3,240 |
All severities | 7,464 | 6,991 | 6,341 | 6,359 | 6,165 | 5,747 | 5,703 | 5,401 | 5,465 | 4,592 | 4,031 |
Non-built up roads | |||||||||||
Fatal | 163 | 140 | 133 | 114 | 98 | 115 | 114 | 110 | 131 | 96 | 107 |
Serious | 965 | 965 | 788 | 722 | 751 | 619 | 634 | 588 | 617 | 586 | 621 |
Fatal and Serious | 1,128 | 1,105 | 921 | 836 | 849 | 734 | 748 | 698 | 748 | 682 | 728 |
Slight | 3,567 | 3,460 | 3,033 | 2,790 | 2,763 | 2,493 | 2,382 | 2,378 | 2,141 | 1,844 | 1,664 |
All severities | 4,695 | 4,565 | 3,954 | 3,626 | 3,612 | 3,227 | 3,130 | 3,076 | 2,889 | 2,526 | 2,392 |
All roads | |||||||||||
Fatal | 245 | 196 | 189 | 175 | 162 | 159 | 181 | 157 | 175 | 140 | 150 |
Serious | 2,242 | 1,998 | 1,713 | 1,675 | 1,736 | 1,425 | 1,488 | 1,421 | 1,432 | 1,378 | 1,369 |
Fatal and Serious | 2,487 | 2,194 | 1,902 | 1,850 | 1,898 | 1,584 | 1,669 | 1,578 | 1,607 | 1,518 | 1,519 |
Slight | 9,672 | 9,362 | 8,393 | 8,135 | 7,879 | 7,390 | 7,164 | 6,899 | 6,747 | 5,600 | 4,904 |
All severities | 12,159 | 11,556 | 10,295 | 9,985 | 9,777 | 8,974 | 8,833 | 8,477 | 8,354 | 7,118 | 6,423 |
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North East 1 | 1,400 | 1,329 | 1,090 | 1,019 | 1,047 | 930 | 784 | 657 | 583 | 467 | 424 |
Aberdeen City | 514 | 445 | 350 | 364 | 385 | 349 | 273 | 229 | 175 | 155 | 135 |
Aberdeenshire | 692 | 687 | 599 | 518 | 533 | 462 | 419 | 347 | 334 | 252 | 240 |
Moray | 194 | 197 | 141 | 137 | 129 | 119 | 92 | 81 | 74 | 60 | 49 |
Tayside | 931 | 909 | 741 | 750 | 742 | 642 | 533 | 472 | 421 | 459 | 406 |
Angus | 286 | 232 | 192 | 220 | 202 | 178 | 141 | 145 | 111 | 135 | 126 |
Dundee City | 270 | 281 | 219 | 237 | 227 | 185 | 168 | 126 | 135 | 120 | 96 |
Perth & Kinross | 375 | 396 | 330 | 293 | 313 | 279 | 224 | 201 | 175 | 204 | 184 |
Argyll & West Dunbartonshire | 436 | 455 | 436 | 377 | 344 | 350 | 304 | 346 | 306 | 288 | 240 |
Argyll & Bute | 288 | 282 | 275 | 232 | 211 | 208 | 193 | 227 | 178 | 174 | 156 |
West Dunbartonshire | 148 | 173 | 161 | 145 | 133 | 142 | 111 | 119 | 128 | 114 | 84 |
Forth Valley | 680 | 634 | 538 | 545 | 568 | 556 | 460 | 508 | 481 | 405 | 327 |
Clackmannanshire | 85 | 77 | 69 | 64 | 84 | 69 | 62 | 62 | 69 | 48 | 36 |
Falkirk | 310 | 303 | 240 | 261 | 270 | 248 | 229 | 250 | 235 | 216 | 164 |
Stirling | 285 | 254 | 229 | 220 | 214 | 239 | 169 | 196 | 177 | 141 | 127 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 419 | 388 | 360 | 319 | 320 | 303 | 311 | 278 | 269 | 236 | 259 |
Ayrshire | 698 | 706 | 576 | 653 | 580 | 540 | 543 | 590 | 570 | 453 | 435 |
East Ayrshire | 230 | 215 | 201 | 204 | 173 | 162 | 164 | 205 | 179 | 131 | 163 |
North Ayrshire | 248 | 225 | 177 | 230 | 205 | 188 | 179 | 192 | 186 | 165 | 147 |
South Ayrshire | 220 | 266 | 198 | 219 | 202 | 190 | 200 | 193 | 205 | 157 | 125 |
Greater Glasgow | 1,901 | 1,761 | 1,581 | 1,540 | 1,527 | 1,282 | 1,436 | 1,393 | 1,467 | 1,260 | 1,039 |
East Dunbartonshire | 141 | 147 | 141 | 140 | 114 | 102 | 101 | 94 | 93 | 88 | 59 |
East Renfrewshire | 109 | 103 | 104 | 116 | 97 | 98 | 92 | 93 | 95 | 95 | 70 |
Glasgow City | 1,651 | 1,511 | 1,336 | 1,284 | 1,316 | 1,082 | 1,243 | 1,206 | 1,279 | 1,077 | 910 |
Lothians & Scottish Borders | 1,257 | 1,152 | 1,083 | 994 | 1,029 | 944 | 900 | 972 | 857 | 785 | 703 |
East Lothian | 193 | 174 | 199 | 159 | 170 | 154 | 178 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 128 |
Midlothian | 221 | 207 | 193 | 177 | 216 | 165 | 188 | 189 | 166 | 134 | 119 |
Scottish Borders | 383 | 363 | 307 | 274 | 263 | 255 | 221 | 221 | 202 | 185 | 173 |
West Lothian | 460 | 408 | 384 | 384 | 380 | 370 | 313 | 404 | 331 | 308 | 283 |
Edinburgh | 1,285 | 1,192 | 1,179 | 1,181 | 1,167 | 1,157 | 1,263 | 1,110 | 1,140 | 905 | 772 |
Highlands & Islands | 702 | 724 | 574 | 568 | 594 | 511 | 517 | 448 | 458 | 353 | 438 |
Eilean Siar | 60 | 39 | 42 | 35 | 28 | 20 | 37 | 32 | 24 | 17 | 21 |
Highland | 586 | 616 | 475 | 488 | 514 | 443 | 432 | 379 | 383 | 309 | 394 |
Orkney Islands | 36 | 27 | 27 | 13 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 12 | 25 | 11 | 10 |
Shetland Islands | 20 | 42 | 30 | 32 | 30 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 16 | 13 |
Fife | 576 | 588 | 556 | 447 | 421 | 420 | 410 | 428 | 452 | 317 | 327 |
Renfrewshire & Inverclyde | 565 | 458 | 485 | 509 | 472 | 374 | 387 | 368 | 401 | 351 | 289 |
Inverclyde | 195 | 146 | 165 | 155 | 136 | 120 | 130 | 110 | 112 | 91 | 79 |
Renfrewshire | 370 | 312 | 320 | 354 | 336 | 254 | 257 | 258 | 289 | 260 | 210 |
Lanarkshire | 1,309 | 1,260 | 1,096 | 1,083 | 966 | 965 | 985 | 907 | 949 | 839 | 764 |
North Lanarkshire | 639 | 664 | 585 | 569 | 512 | 510 | 482 | 451 | 483 | 444 | 382 |
South Lanarkshire | 670 | 596 | 511 | 514 | 454 | 455 | 503 | 456 | 466 | 395 | 382 |
Scotland | 12,159 | 11,556 | 10,295 | 9,985 | 9,777 | 8,974 | 8,833 | 8,477 | 8,354 | 7,118 | 6,423 |
Note: Detailed figures for casualties by local authority area can be found in Reported Road Casualties Scotland table B
1. In 2015 the police created a new North East division by combining Aberdeen City, Moray and Aberdeenshire councils.
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pedal cycle | 768 | 821 | 810 | 855 | 934 | 919 | 924 | 829 | 809 | 752 | 657 |
Motor cycle1 | 1,050 | 1,038 | 859 | 827 | 890 | 777 | 835 | 738 | 710 | 607 | 640 |
Car | 15,061 | 14,578 | 12,805 | 12,400 | 12,214 | 11,220 | 11,191 | 10,935 | 11,077 | 9,406 | 8,367 |
Taxi | 367 | 391 | 355 | 387 | 333 | 327 | 310 | 270 | 304 | 264 | 201 |
Minibus | 65 | 79 | 57 | 52 | 54 | 39 | 43 | 37 | 52 | 37 | 32 |
Bus/coach | 796 | 697 | 611 | 617 | 520 | 469 | 433 | 389 | 396 | 320 | 298 |
Light goods | 918 | 760 | 752 | 785 | 806 | 876 | 878 | 886 | 909 | 787 | 759 |
Heavy goods | 654 | 554 | 546 | 465 | 453 | 408 | 419 | 384 | 322 | 305 | 273 |
Other | 541 | 469 | 447 | 364 | 326 | 266 | 257 | 208 | 172 | 195 | 172 |
Total | 20,220 | 19,387 | 17,242 | 16,752 | 16,530 | 15,301 | 15,290 | 14,676 | 14,751 | 12,673 | 11,399 |
1. Includes all two wheeled motor vehicles.
Child casualties | All casualties1 | Total | Slight casualty | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
rate per 100 million veh-kms | |||||||||||
Killed | Serious injury | Killed & Serious | Slight injury | Total | Killed | Serious injury | Killed & Serious | Slight injury | |||
2004-08 average | 15 | 325.4 | 341 | 1,678 | 2,019 | 292 | 2,605 | 2,897 | 14,200 | 17,097 | 32.47 |
2003 | 17 | 415 | 432 | 2,048 | 2,480 | 336 | 2,957 | 3,293 | 15,463 | 18,756 | 36.78 |
2004 | 12 | 372 | 384 | 2,011 | 2,395 | 308 | 2,766 | 3,074 | 15,428 | 18,502 | 36.13 |
2005 | 11 | 356 | 367 | 1,796 | 2,163 | 286 | 2,666 | 2,952 | 14,933 | 17,885 | 34.96 |
2007 | 9 | 269 | 278 | 1,538 | 1,816 | 281 | 2,385 | 2,666 | 13,573 | 16,239 | 30.39 |
2008 | 20 | 279 | 299 | 1,390 | 1,689 | 270 | 2,575 | 2,845 | 12,747 | 15,592 | 28.66 |
2009 | 5 | 253 | 258 | 1,215 | 1,473 | 216 | 2,287 | 2,503 | 12,540 | 15,043 | 28.36 |
2010 | 4 | 223 | 227 | 1,151 | 1,378 | 208 | 1,969 | 2,177 | 11,161 | 13,338 | 25.66 |
2011 | 7 | 203 | 210 | 1,106 | 1,316 | 185 | 1,878 | 2,063 | 10,722 | 12,785 | 24.71 |
2012 | 2 | 194 | 196 | 971 | 1,167 | 176 | 1,981 | 2,157 | 10,555 | 12,712 | 24.24 |
2013 | 9 | 141 | 150 | 902 | 1,052 | 172 | 1,667 | 1,839 | 9,653 | 11,492 | 22.02 |
2014 | 7 | 171 | 178 | 851 | 1,029 | 203 | 1,701 | 1,904 | 9,398 | 11,302 | 20.96 |
2015 | 4 | 140 | 144 | 827 | 971 | 168 | 1,602 | 1,770 | 9,207 | 10,977 | 20.29 |
2016 | 12 | 167 | 179 | 820 | 999 | 191 | 1,697 | 1,888 | 9,009 | 10,897 | 19.39 |
2017 | 2 | 153 | 155 | 745 | 900 | 145 | 1,594 | 1,739 | 7,694 | 9,433 | 16.03 |
2018 | 3 | 142 | 145 | 608 | 753 | 161 | 1,582 | 1,743 | 6,668 | 8,411 | 13.85 |
Per cent change: 2018 on 2004-08 average | -81 | -56 | -57 | -64 | -63 | -45 | -39 | -40 | -53 | -51 | -57 |
1. Including those casualties whose age was not known.
Numbers | Rates per 1,000 population | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Young | Older | Total | Young | Older | Total | ||||||
Age not known | Children 0-15 | Persons 16-24 | Adults 25-59 | Adults 60+ | Children 0-15 | Persons 16-24 | Adults 25-59 | Adults 60+ | |||
Pedestrian | 4 | 334 | 143 | 501 | 271 | 1,253 | .36 | .25 | .19 | .20 | .23 |
Pedal cycle | 3 | 64 | 62 | 453 | 55 | 637 | .07 | .11 | .18 | .04 | .12 |
Motorcycle | 2 | 3 | 105 | 453 | 77 | 640 | .00 | .18 | .18 | .06 | .12 |
Car | 15 | 316 | 1,044 | 2,764 | 940 | 5,079 | .34 | 1.80 | 1.07 | .69 | .93 |
Taxi | 1 | 3 | 13 | 69 | 18 | 104 | .00 | .02 | .03 | .01 | .02 |
Minibus | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 20 | .00 | .00 | .00 | .00 | .00 |
Bus/Coach | 2 | 19 | 18 | 88 | 103 | 230 | .02 | .03 | .03 | .08 | .04 |
Light goods | 0 | 8 | 38 | 243 | 30 | 319 | .01 | .07 | .09 | .02 | .06 |
Heavy goods | 0 | 1 | 5 | 56 | 11 | 73 | .00 | .01 | .02 | .01 | .01 |
Other1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 46 | 6 | 56 | .00 | .01 | .02 | .00 | .01 |
Total | 27 | 753 | 1,431 | 4,684 | 1,516 | 8,411 | .82 | 2.46 | 1.82 | 1.11 | 1.55 |
1. Including any casualties whose mode of transport is not known
Injury Accidents | All injury accidents | Damage only accidents | All accidents | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Motorway | Non Built-up | Built-up | ||||
£ million at 2018 prices | ||||||
2008 | 48.4 | 714.0 | 620.3 | 1,382.7 | 402.0 | 1,784.6 |
2009 | 50.6 | 638.8 | 515.7 | 1,205.1 | 380.7 | 1,585.8 |
2010 | 33.2 | 585.6 | 470.2 | 1,089.0 | 340.6 | 1,429.6 |
2011 | 41.1 | 488.7 | 484.2 | 1,013.9 | 333.1 | 1,347.0 |
2012 | 32.8 | 486.6 | 495.8 | 1,015.2 | 325.3 | 1,340.5 |
2013 | 36.5 | 476.5 | 404.8 | 917.8 | 299.8 | 1,217.7 |
2014 | 36.2 | 478.4 | 467.4 | 982.0 | 295.7 | 1,277.6 |
2015 | 49.5 | 429.8 | 407.2 | 886.5 | 282.6 | 1,169.2 |
2016 | 45.6 | 508.8 | 394.2 | 948.7 | 280.5 | 1,229.2 |
2017 | 29.1 | 404.7 | 373.2 | 807.0 | 238.1 | 1,045.1 |
2018 | 44.4 | 423.4 | 347.9 | 815.8 | 213.4 | 1,029.1 |